Which material is best for household frying pans

We use woks very often in our lives. Basically, we may use woks to cook every meal. The quality of the material of the wok will directly affect our health. Therefore, many friends who pay attention to health now want to know what kind of material of the wok for home use will be better for health. So, what material is good for home woks? Let’s take a look together.

Different woks have different features and even different uses.

On the one hand, when purchasing, we should understand the characteristics of the various woks on the market and choose the one that suits our needs. On the other hand, we must develop a keen eye to identify those woks that should not be purchased. Next, let’s take a look at what you need to know when buying a wok.

Tools/Raw Materials

frying pan

Method/Steps/Material of the wok

1. Iron pan

Material characteristics: Traditional iron pans do not contain other special chemicals in their materials and have strong antioxidant capacity. Therefore, no inedible dissolution products will be produced during the cooking process. Even if iron ions are dissolved into the food, people can absorb the iron after eating it. Iron can be used to synthesize hemoglobin. Therefore, cooking with an iron pan can prevent iron deficiency anemia. At the same time, the iron pan is very sturdy and durable, heats evenly, and has outstanding heating effects.

Generally, iron pans on the market are divided into cast iron pans and refined iron pans, which have some differences in characteristics:

Cast iron pans are suitable for slow stir-frying. The iron is very pure and can supplement iron in a healthy way. The general design is a thick bottom and thin walls, and it is heavy. When heating, when the temperature of the fire exceeds 200℃, the cast iron pan will emit a certain amount of heat energy and control the temperature of the food to about 230℃, which makes it easier to control the heat. Friends who like slow stir-frying can buy it.

Fine iron pans are suitable for stir-frying over high heat. They are made of black iron sheets by forging or hand-hammering. Their surfaces are usually subjected to multiple treatments, making the pan body thinner and able to transfer the temperature of the flame directly to the food through the pan.

Disadvantages: Ordinary iron pans are very easy to rust, and if the rust is accidentally ingested by the human body, it will cause damage to the liver. It is quite heavy, so users who don't have enough wrist strength but like to stir-fry should consider whether they can handle this heavy thing. The surface is rough. The characteristics of cast iron material itself determine its surface roughness. If no coating is added, its surface cannot be smooth, which can easily cause displeasure to users who are "appearance-conscious".

2. Stainless steel pot

Material characteristics: Compared with iron frying pans, stainless steel pans are lighter and their sturdiness is not compromised at all. It can be said that they have achieved a good balance between heat, weight and quality. In addition, stainless steel pots are not easy to rust and will not harbor dirt and grime, which can greatly reduce the workload when cleaning. If cleaned regularly and in the right way, the pot body can maintain its exquisite appearance for a long time.

Disadvantages: The heat preservation effect is poor. If the food stored in the stainless steel pot is not eaten immediately in winter, it will become leftovers in a very short time. The price is higher. Compared with traditional iron pans, the price of stainless steel frying pans is often more than 30% higher. It has no iron-replenishing effect. The iron-replenishing effect of iron pans has been mentioned before. Stainless steel, as a representative of stable materials, will not dissolve residues during the cooking process, so it will not have the effect of iron-replenishing.

3. Alloy pot

Material characteristics: Most alloy frying pans are made of aluminum alloy, and there are a few titanium alloy products. Due to the development of alloy technology, the alloy pot products on the market nowadays have fully oxidized the surface of the pot body, so they can fully stand the test in terms of safety indicators. On the contrary, alloy pots, due to their many additional technologies, can avoid some of the shortcomings of stainless steel and iron pots, making them balanced in performance. They have neither obvious advantages nor some annoying defects. Of course, we do not recommend using alloy frying pans with unreliable brands and low prices.

4. Woks made of other materials

In addition to the three common woks mentioned above, other more representative ones are the medical stone wok and the copper wok.

Medical stone frying pan: Made of pure natural medical stone. Because this material is rich in various elements, it can dissolve trace elements and minerals such as potassium, iron, magnesium, manganese, lead, silicon, iodine, etc. when stewing. Long-term use can promote human physiological metabolism and is beneficial to human health. At the same time, this material can absorb impure odors in dishes, keep them fresh for a long time, and it also has the characteristics of being light, less smoke, and having outstanding non-stick properties.

However, this type of pot is not suitable for operation with a metal spatula, and is more suitable for stewing and cooking. It has limitations in operation and has not yet become mainstream in the market.

Copper wok: The copper wok is truly tall, handsome and rich. Given the chemical structure of copper molecules, this type of wok has excellent thermal conductivity. It heats evenly and quickly when frying, ensuring that the ingredients on the top can also receive a temperature close to that of the bottom of the pot. It is easy to control the heat and reduce the stirring action to a certain extent. However, copper frying pans are expensive and heavy, so they are generally not recommended unless users have special requirements for heating.